Biblical Studies MA (Hons)
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Master
In St Andrews
Description
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Type
Master
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Location
St andrews (Scotland)
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Duration
4 Years
The MA (Hons) in Biblical Studies provides an opportunity to explore the profound influence that the Christian and Jewish Scriptures have had on Western civilisation. Your studies will focus on the Old Testament and New Testament, but you will also encounter a large number of other Jewish and Christian writings from these periods, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The MA course is particularly suited for those wanting a wider range of options across Arts subjects, but who still want to give most of their attention to Divinity. Many students choose to take Biblical Studies alongside subjects such as ancient history or classical studies in order to study important texts within the wider context of the ancient world, or with English in order to discover the way in which biblical ideas and themes have found their way into literature.
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About this course
The MA (Hons) in Biblical Studies is a four-year course run by the School of Divinity. The course is designed to introduce you to the complexities and wonders of reading biblical texts: contexts, content, methods and hermeneutics (the reading of ancient texts in a modern world).
In your first two years, you will take compulsory modules focusing on both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament modules focus on the history, religion and culture of Israel, and incorporate a wide range of texts from prophetic, hymnic, wisdom and apocalyptic literature.
The New Testament modules focus on Jesus and the Gospels, Paul’s letters and the rest of the New Testament writings in the context of the history and theology of early Christianity. In addition, you will study at least one biblical language – either Hebrew or Greek, or both – which will provide a basis for Honours level exegesis courses.
Alongside Biblical Studies, in the first year of your studies you will be required to study an additional two subjects. In the second year you will usually carry on at least one of these subjects, sometimes two.
Graduates from the theological and biblical disciplines develop key transferable skills in critical thinking and in written and oral communication, which make them highly attractive to potential employers. Accordingly, employment prospects are usually wide ranging.
Recent graduates from the School of Divinity have become:
religious studies teachers
lay chaplains at schools
ordained ministers
journalists with the national and religious press.
SQA Highers AAAB
GCE A-Levels AAA
IB points 36
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Subjects
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Options
- Grammar
- Greek Text
- English Text
- Ancient Near East
- Hebrew Readings
- Old Testament
- Wisdom
Course programme
In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours) you will take the required modules in Biblical Studies alongside modules in at least one other subject.
Typically, you will take one to two Biblical Studies modules per semester during your first two years, and three or four Biblical Studies modules per semester during your third and fourth year
1st Year
Students take the following compulsory first-year modules:
- Old Testament 1: Torah and Prophets: an introduction to the life, literature and religion of Ancient Israel, with particular consideration of the main literary types of the Old Testament literature.
- New Testament 1: Jesus and the Gospels: consideration of the historical contexts of the New Testament texts, including political, socio-economic and religious factors within the Greco-Roman world and Early Judaism.
and at least one of:
- Hebrew 1: Introduction to Hebrew Language: aims to give students a sufficient knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of Old Testament Hebrew to be able to read and analyse prescribed texts. Continues on to Hebrew 2.
- New Testament Greek 1: introduces the essential grammar, morphology, and vocabulary of New Testament Greek which will continue into New Testament Greek 2.
Students will take the following compulsory second-year modules:
- Old Testament 2: Wisdom, Psalms, Apocalyptic and Apocryphal Literature: an introduction to the literature and theology of the period of Israel’s history from exile to the consolidation of the canon.
- New Testament 2: Paul and the Epistles: examines the developing theology of the New Testament, paying particular attention to the issue of unity and diversity, and to the themes of Christology and soteriology.
and at least one of:
- Hebrew 2: continues from Hebrew 1 and extends students' skills in reading the Hebrew Bible and in the techniques of textual criticism and of exegesis.
- New Testament Greek 2: continues from New Testament Greek 1 and introduces the second half of the essential grammar, morphology, and vocabulary of New Testament Greek.
If you decide to take Biblical Studies in your third and fourth years, you choose from a wide variety of advanced options in exegesis and hermeneutics.
Biblical Studies Honours modules which have been offered in previous years include:
- Ancient Jewish Literature from 1 Enoch to the Mishnah
- Creation and Chaos in the Old Testament and Ancient Near East
- Epistle to the Hebrews: English Text
- The Gospel of Mark: Greek Text
- Hebrew Prose and Poetry
- Hebrew Readings
- Reading the Greek New Testament
In fourth year, students also undertake a 10,000-word dissertation on a topic of their choice. The School provides significant support for the dissertation, with a breakdown of the assessment into different stages and a programme of seminars to assist in the development of advanced research and communication skills.
The sub-honours modules listed here are the compulsory modules that students must take in order to graduate in this subject. However, most students at St Andrews take additional modules, either in their primary subject or from other subjects they are interested in. For Honours-level, students choose from a range of Honours modules, some of which are listed above.
Additional information
Biblical Studies MA (Hons)